"In 2016, the United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”,1 with goal five focusing specifically on gender equality. While progress has been made, women and girls continue to face a myriad of barriers to achieve the same quality of life as their male counterparts, be it in education, political participation, or business investment to name but a few.

Women entrepreneurs are of particular focus in the international development community; while active in the entrepreneurial space, there is significant evidence that women business owners face unique challenges compared to men business owners - often overlooked in terms of investment and business support services. This is particularly pronounced in developing economies."

"This report is an output of the ANDE Gender Action Lab. Authored by Villgro and LEAD At Krea University, this report publishes insights from a survey of over 800 SMEs on how women entrepreneurs access finance in the country. Combining insights from the desk research, demand-side survey and supply-side key informant interviews, the report suggests recommendations across three verticals: program, process and product, with government initiatives as anchors for scaling up."

"The report delves into the effectiveness and impact of various business support initiatives, employing rigorous research methodologies such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The key topics covered include the effectiveness of accelerator programs, talent acquisition for SMEs, recordkeeping and data collection, impact measurement and management (IMM) frameworks, and support for women-led businesses. It also offers valuable insights for policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs to make informed decisions, fostering sustainable growth and success within the business ecosystem. Recommendations underscore the importance of evidence-backed practices for talent acquisition, recordkeeping, and gender-sensitive approaches to support women entrepreneurs."

"The whitepaper discusses the problem of gender inequity in funding outcomes for women-founded startups, both globally and in India. The research aimed to understand the gender gaps in funding outcomes among investors and identify opportunities for improvement. The study utilized data from the Tracxn database, global benchmarks, and interviews with stakeholders in the investment ecosystem. Key findings include the concentration of funding in a few sectors and cities, the growth of women-founded companies in recent years, and the lack of gender diversity in investment teams. The report also highlights case studies of organizations that practice gender-smart funding and offers recommendations for fostering gender lens investment in India. It emphasizes the need for data tracking, a change in investment processes, and the promotion of gender diversity in firms to improve funding outcomes for women entrepreneurs. The report suggests a targeted approach with a dedicated team and industry-wide engagement to create a sustainable and robust platform for gender lens investment in India."

"Access to capital is crucial for fostering entrepreneurship, fueling business growth, and enhancing productivity. Unfortunately, femaleentrepreneurs in developing countries face significant challenges securing formal financial support and making lower profits than maleentrepreneurs. While the evidence on the gendered investment gap is well documented, scant evidence-based studies investigatewhether the disparity arises from investor bias. Authors Shibiru Ayalew, Shanthi Manian, and Ketki Sheth implemented a large-scale field experiment in a high-stakes natural context to identify whether loan officers exhibit discriminatory behavior in capital allocation decisions for businesses inEthiopia. The experimental study showed no evidence that financial providers discriminate against women-owned businesses in reviewing loan applications."

The brief provides an overview of the ongoing impact evaluation on the Impulso Chileno program, which aims to support Chilean entrepreneurs through financial assistance, training, and mentoring. Previous assessments of entrepreneur training interventions have yielded mixed results. The evaluation of Impulso Chileno holds significance as it examines the unique design and components of the program and their potential impact on business success. By evaluating the combined effect of its components, the evaluation of Impulso Chileno aims to uncover the determinants of business success and drive program improvements. The evaluation employs a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) design to assess the program's long-term impact on various business growth indicators such as monthly sales, profits, business practices, and employment.

"Female founders raise less capital from investors than male founders, even if their ventures are similar or identical. However, providing systematic evaluation frameworks could encourage investors to assess all candidates equally, thus reducing gender disparities. In this vein, the authors – Amisha Miller and Saurabh Lall – investigated whether changing systematic evaluation practices could close the gender gap in investment decisions. The authors designed and implemented a two-stage experiment in collaboration with Village Capital across different developing regions across Africa, South Asia (India), the Middle East, and Latin America to reduce gender disparities in investment decisions. The experimental findings confirm that using a systematic evaluation framework – prompting investors to consider both risks and growth, as well as progress – reduces or even reverses gender disparities in investment decisions. This study provides strong causal evidence for an intervention that can be implemented right out the gate at a low cost: providing a systematic evaluation framework to investors."

"Este relatório examina o cenário do investimento de impacto na América Latina e no Caribe para 2020 e 2021, com base em uma amostra de investidores de impacto ativos na região, destacando tendências, principais desafios e oportunidades, e apresentando mergulhos profundos na atividade em três dos países da região: Brasil, Colômbia e México, além de uma análise sobre a Guatemala. Entre suas conclusões, o estudo mostra que os investidores de impacto estão buscando cada vez mais retornos ajustados à taxa de mercado, se mantendo flexíveis de acordo com as necessidades específicas de países e setores. Além disso, revela que os investidores de impacto ainda dependem fortemente de ferramentas próprias de medição de impacto, no entanto, um número crescente deles utiliza metodologias existentes para atender aos requisitos de medição de impacto. Acesso a capital, educação e treinamento e o ambiente regulatório local são identificados como os desafios mais comuns a serem superados para liberar todo o potencial do ecossistema empreendedor da região por meio do investimento de impacto."

"Uganda's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative (UEEI) Phase II aimed to address key gaps and opportunities in the entrepreneurial ecosystems of Kampala and Gulu, Uganda. The initiative was designed to work collectively towards addressing interrelated constraints such as limited access to financing, mentorship, and network connections, which were found to be limiting entrepreneurship in Uganda. While progress has been made, challenges such as bureaucratic red tape and a lack of appropriate financial products for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) still exist. The UEEI Phase II serves as a valuable learning opportunity for practitioners and policymakers working to cultivate a thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem in emerging markets."

"Este informe examina el panorama de la Inversión de Impacto en América Latina y el Caribe durante 2020 y 2021, con base en una muestra de inversionistas de impacto activos en la región, destacando tendencias, desafíos clave y oportunidades, y presenta análisis profundos de esta actividad en tres de los mercados más grandes de la región: Brasil, Colombia y México, así como un acercamiento a Guatemala. Entre sus hallazgos, el estudio muestra que los inversores de impacto buscan cada vez más retornos a tasas de mercado, manteniendo esquemas de retorno flexibles de acuerdo con las necesidades específicas de los países y sectores. Además, revela que los inversores de impacto aún dependen en gran medida en herramientas de medición de impacto desarrolladas por sí mismos, mientras que un número cada vez mayor de ellos utiliza herramientas existentes para abordar los requisitos de medición de impacto. El acceso al capital, la educación y la capacitación, y el entorno regulatorio local se identifican como los desafíos más comunes a superar para activar el potencial del ecosistema emprendedor de la región a través de la inversión de impacto".